Key result
Slow breathing increases RMSSD but causes ~28 percentage points higher temporal instability versus baseline.
Why the study?
While slow breathing is recognized for increasing parasympathetic activity, the ability to maintain that desired physiological state over time—physiological stability—has received substantially less empirical attention.
Does a 10-minute self-paced slow abdominal breathing exercise increase and maintain temporal stability of heart rate variability (RMSSD) compared to resting baseline in healthy adults?
Does a 10-minute self-paced slow abdominal breathing exercise increase and maintain temporal stability of heart rate variability (RMSSD) compared to resting baseline in healthy adults?
While self-paced slow breathing significantly increases overall heart rate variability (RMSSD) compared to baseline, a majority of individuals (69%) exhibit temporal instability in RMSSD during the exercise, which is significantly associated with higher levels of cognitive catastrophizing.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
RMSSD instability during slow breathing may limit its reliability for HRV training; leaves open whether catastrophizing moderates responses in prospective trials.
Background. Slow breathing is widely recognized as an effective strategy for increasing parasympathetic activity and improving psychological functioning. However, successful regulation may involve more than simply reaching a desired physiological state. Equally important, and referred to here as physiological stability, is the ability to maintain that state over time, an aspect that has received substantially less empirical attention. Methods. Fifty-nine adults completed a five-minute baseline period followed by a ten-minute self-paced slow breathing exercise. Parasympathetic activity was assessed using Heart Rate Variability (HRV; root mean square of successive differences, RMSSD). Changes in RMSSD, its temporal stability during breathing, and associations with emotion regulation, resilience, and lifestyle factors were examined. Results. RMSSD was significantly higher during slow breathing than during baseline, indicating successful parasympathetic self-regulation. RMSSD instability was more prevalent during the breathing phase (69%) than during baseline (41%), a difference confirmed by McNemar's test. Exploratory analyses identified several associations with emotion regulation; however, after correction for multiple comparisons, only catastrophizing remained significantly associated with RMSSD instability ( r = .42). Conclusions. Although HRV generally increased during slow breathing, many individuals exhibited HRV instability over time. These findings suggest that achieving and maintaining physiological regulation may represent distinct processes, underscoring the importance of temporal stability in breathing and HRV research. Moreover, catastrophizing was associated with a greater likelihood of HRV instability, suggesting that maladaptive emotion regulation may be linked to difficulties in maintaining physiological self-regulation.
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Depoorter et al. (2026) studied Healthy adults (autonomic/parasympathetic self-regulation) (n=59). Self-paced slow abdominal breathing vs. Seated resting baseline (within-subject control) was evaluated on Temporal instability of heart rate variability (RMSSD non-stationarity via OLS-CUSUM) (McNemar χ²(1) = 7.81, p=0.005). Self-paced slow breathing increased median RMSSD vs baseline (39.69 vs 33.89, p<0.001), but caused higher RMSSD temporal instability (69% vs 41%, p=0.005).
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